Alexandra Brochue strikes her opponent during a match at the Kai Yip Memorial Fight Night on Sept. 14 at Exhibition Park.
A local boxing club hosted dozens of fighters from all over western Canada for a tournament this past weekend.
The Kai Yip Memorial Fight Night was held in memory of a local boxer and coach. Kai Yip passed away in 2017 after winning many awards, representing Canada at the British Empire Games and coaching at the 1984 Olympics.
Yip coached boxing for many years in Lethbridge and was an important part of that community.
“He was a great leader for the boxing club for 35 years. We decided we would honour him every year and do a memorial for him,” said Rick Duff, event organizer and long-time boxing coach.
Members of the Lethbridge Boxing Club faced off against competitors from Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.
Friends and family, as well as boxing fans, gathered at Exhibition Park Saturday evening for 18 matches.
Carlos Marquina, who is trained by Duff, lost a hard-fought match to Terrence Shouts in his first tournament of the season.
“He definitely had some heavy hands. So, when he connected, I could feel it for sure. He didn’t go to my body at all and I tried to go to his body, but it felt like it was a little bit out of reach,” said the 24-year-old.
Boxing is about more than just winning and losing for the some of the athletes, including Marquina.
“More than anything I just think it’s my calling… If I really think about it, it’s kind of what keeps me alive. It keeps me out of a lot of trouble,” he said.
Marquina said the most important thing he learned from boxing was to never give up when backed into a corner in life or the ring.
The event featured male and female boxers, with some competitors being as young as 10-years-old.
“Everyone did amazing. I was very, very happy with all my fighters. We all learned a lot today. I challenged all my fighters. All the fighters we brought in were tough competitors and we stepped up to the game,” said Duff.
The night honoured Yip’s memory and several of his family members were in attendance.
It was a bit of a tough evening for the Lethbridge boxers, not many local fighters won their match.
The event will be held again next fall to honour Kai Yip’s legacy.
Lethbridge will not host any more boxing tournaments this year.
The next boxing event in this province is the Olympus Saturday Night Fight Night in Calgary.
For more information on the tournament or the Lethbridge Boxing Club, visit lethbridgeboxingclub.com.
